Bottling honey or making honey from the beehive to the jar may be a big change for beginner beekeepers, even if they are good at beekeeping. However, with a little guidance, anyone can bottle their honey straight from the apiary easily. Before diving into the bottling process, there are a few important factors that beekeepers should consider. Let’s read on.
Differentiating Uncapped and Capped Honey:
To begin the honey bottling, start by removing the honey frame from the beehive and bringing it to your designated workspace. Once there, inspect the frames to determine the percentage of uncapped and capped honey they contain.
It is important to know the amount of uncapped honey present, as it tends to have higher moisture compared to capped honey. Beekeepers generally prefer harvesting from capped honey, as it should have a moisture content of 18% or lower. When the moisture level exceeds 18%, the honey crystallizes easily. Therefore, to ensure the best quality honey, it is recommended that approximately 90% of the honey on a beekeeper’s frames should be capped.
To determine the moisture content of harvested honey, beekeepers can use a refractometer. This honey tool does all the hard work of measuring moisture levels for beginners.
Extracting Honey from the Frames
There are various methods to harvest honey, but we recommend using a honey extractor due to its simplicity and efficiency. To begin, you will need an uncapping knife, which is used to remove the outer layer of wax from the honeycomb, revealing the honey within.
This extraction method leaves most of the wax comb on the frames, making it easier for the bees as they won’t need to rebuild the wax comb before refilling it with honey. Once the honeycomb is uncapped, the honey extractor comes into play.
After the honey has been extracted, it is essential to let it drip from the wax before moving on to the filtering process. Since the uncapping method removes very little wax from the comb, this step doesn’t take long. Once you feel that most of the honey has dripped away, you can process and clean the wax for other purposes or proceed directly to filter the honey.
Filtering the Honey Using a Sieve
Once the honey has pooled at the bottom of the extractor, it can be drained through the spigot. To ensure the removal of impurities and wax cappings, it is recommended to run the honey through a honey sieve during this process. As the honey flows through the sieve, it can be collected in a honey tank with a stopper, making it easier to transfer the honey into bottles later on.
With all these steps completed, you are now ready to bottle your honey.
Multi-sweet Honey Filling Machine
Multi-sweet Honey Filling Machine supports both filtered and unfiltered honey. It is suitable for semi-crystalline honey with a degree of 43.5 degrees and a fluidity ranging from 5 to 90 degrees Celsius. Additionally, the filter is for degrees below 42 degrees and a temperature between 20 and 42 degrees honey.
- Plug options: Choose from Australian, British, European, or American standard plugs.
- Adjustable filling height: The filling height can be adjusted from 0 to 30cm.
- Filling weight range: 50 to 10,000 grams.
- Universal power supply: The machine can be powered by single-phase 100-240V or dual-use 24V.
- Low power consumption: The rated power of the machine is less than 120W.
- High filling efficiency: With a filling efficiency of 500 bottles per hour for 500g/bottle and 360 bottles per hour for 1000g/bottle, the machine ensures a swift bottling process.
- Counting function: The machine includes a built-in counting function, eliminating the need for an air compressor. It offers a filling error margin of ±5g.
- Manual and automatic modes: The machine provides the flexibility to switch between manual and automatic modes as needed.
- Tubelengths: The feed tube long 1.2m, while the discharge tube measures 0.55m.
Bottling Your Honey
While plastic jars may seem convenient and cost-effective, they are not recommended for bottling genuine honey due to the honey’s natural tendency to crystallize. Once honey crystallizes in a plastic container, it is difficult to restore its smooth, sweet consistency. Therefore, it is highly recommended to use glass jars for bottling honey, as they preserve the honey’s quality as intended by the bees.
Before filling the jars with fresh honey, ensure they have been properly sanitized and washed: Place the jars in an oven and heat them at 225 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Once the jars have cooled, position your honey bucket on a high-level surface to prevent pests from accessing your hard-earned honey. If you own a honey processing line, you can use a Bottle washer and dryer to keep the bottle clean and cry. Finally, seal each jar with a clean lid, and if you have a brand for your beekeeping business, consider labeling the jars.
By following the steps outlined in this beginner’s guide, Feel free to reach out to us for any inquiries about honey filling.